Bleeding the clutch..

[drifting.8]

Im done searching i know when and why to bleed the clutch but how do i do it ??:aw:

[s13monkey]

the same as your brake system

[nissanguy13]

First you take the damper off and throw it away. Then you hook the hard line straight to the slave cylinder. Then you get a buddy to pump the clutch pedal 3 times and hold to the floor board while you loosen the bleeder on the slave cylinder for 3 seconds, then tighten bleeder. Repeat until the clutch pedal is firm.

[drifting.8]

^^^ thanks again zilvians^^^

[burnsauto]

well....if the clutch line is bone dry...start with hand pumping it, then after a while, when the pedal gets a little harder, then you can start to pump it with your foot.

not all the air may come out in one session, but bleed it as much as you can, then check the next morning....air that is trapped may just need some time to work itself out over time.

[s13silvia123]

Or use a brake bleeder and pump that air out of it with a small twist on the bleeder than tighten it back to togather.

[KingKong8247]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v142/KingKong82478247/240sx/DSCF0157.jpg

[Mister.E]

make sure you compress the slave cylinder as much as you can with the bleeder valve closed, then while holding it in, open the bleeder valve and you should hear air come out. make sure you do this before you start pumping the pedal and pushing fluid into the cylinder. i didnt depress mine all the way when i started and it would stick as it came back up...no matter how much i bled it.

[frosti108]

make sure you compress the slave cylinder as much as you can with the bleeder valve closed, then while holding it in, open the bleeder valve and you should hear air come out. make sure you do this before you start pumping the pedal and pushing fluid into the cylinder. i didnt depress mine all the way when i started and it would stick as it came back up...no matter how much i bled it.


hmmm i think this may be my problem... props to you :love:

[Mister.E]

hmmm i think this may be my problem... props to you :love:

yeah it happened to both me and my friend, then some guy walked up at the hobby shop and asked us if we compressed the cylinder....needless to say we didnt even think about that. solved my sticky clutch problem instantly.

the situation was that we just kept bleeding and bleeding but the clutch pedal would still stick on the way back up, then pop into normal position. the pedal was the only thing that seemed to be acting up, cuz the bleeding process under the hood looked good to go. the hose had a full line of fluid running through it with no air bubbles. if it wasnt for the advice we never would have figured it out.

[honduh]

so when you compress the slave cylinder, what exactly do you mean? I just assumed for bleeding it you would pump the pedal a bunch and hold it at the floor, then loosen the screw for a few seconds, tighten, and repeat. I've never heard about doing the extra step you mentioned. Would you mind elaborating a bit on it?

[twofortyrida1388]

I would like to know as well.

[s13driftϛ]

get a speed bleeder and delete that damper box thats the best way

[twofortyrida1388]

The stuff I just read seams it will fix or lessen my tranny issues. New slave cylinder, master cylinder, bleed it, remove damper box, adjust clutch rod thing, and I think thats it. I can get fluid, sc, and mc fo cheap. 20% off.

[Rayne]

so when you compress the slave cylinder, what exactly do you mean? I just assumed for bleeding it you would pump the pedal a bunch and hold it at the floor, then loosen the screw for a few seconds, tighten, and repeat. I've never heard about doing the extra step you mentioned. Would you mind elaborating a bit on it?

Pressing and holding the clutch pedal to the floor compresses the slave cylinder.

[twofortyrida1388]

I think my problem is that my clutch isn't being fully disengaged because at a stop I can put it in 1st with pedal all the way down and I can feel the slightest jerk from the diff. I can also slightly feel dog teeth catch as well.

[g6civcx]

Okay, all you guys who don't know listen up. This is the 100th time I've typed this already.

Go here: http://www.takamotorsports.com


And if you're extremely lazy, here: http://www.takamotorsports.com/ProductClutchLines_page.html


Anybody who is still running the stock hardline and clutch damper needs to buy that braided line.

1) Open the slave bleed screw and let fluid drain.
2) Remove everything between the master and slave cylinder, including all the hardline, damper, and loop.
3) Connect the Taka braided line straight from the master to the slave.
4) Go to your clutch pedal and remove the big stopper bolt at the top of the pedal travel.
5) Adjust the clutch pedal free play so that it will sit as high as possible on the master cylinder pushrod. If you don't know how look in the FSM. You turn the rod that connects the pedal to the master cylinder all the way out so that the rod is as long as possible. This puts the pedal at the top of the stroke of the master cylinder piston.
6) Open the slave bleed bolt and push the fork that sits on top of the ball and cup against the slave cylinder as far as it will go in. This puts the cylinder at the top of the compression stroke.
7) Close the bleed bolt and fill the master with fluid.
8) The clutch line is inverted so you'll have some difficulty gravity bleeding. The best way is to pump the pedal several times and hold it, then quickly loosen the braided line at the master cylinder just enough to let out some air. You'll only have to do this a few times and it'll start gravity bleeding itself.
9) Now pump and hold and loosen the bleeder bolt on the slave like normal. With the braided line, it will only take you 3-5 repititions at most. With the clutch damper you will need a power bleeder.

After the line and slave is bled, check for proper operation. Have someone operate the clutch with you watching the piston to see if it retracts and expands correctly.

After everything is gravy you can adjust the clutch pedal. There are 2 adjustments.

1) The pushrod affects how far the clutch pedal travels at the bottom of the stroke, and limits how far pass disengagement you go.

2) The big stopper nut affects how far the clutch comes up, and limits how far pass engagement you go.

Adjust #1 first and then #2 as per the FSM. When you adjust, err on the side of having too little on #1 and too much on #2. This is because the hydro setup has some freeplay built in so that as the clutch wear, you won't need to push down on it as much to disengage.

If you set #2 too tight, the clutch won't fully engage and you'll have clutch slip all the time.

If you have no idea what I'm talking about look at the FSM and think about it for a second. Then look at the section with the pressure plate and clutch disc. Imagine what happens when the clutch is disengage and as the disc becomes thinner.


I prefer to set #1 right at the disengagement point so that I can shift freely with no grind (to eliminate excessive pedal travel at the floor), and #2 right at the point where the clutch begins to slip (to eliminate excessive pedal travel at the top).

Over time as your clutch wear you will need to readjust #1 to eliminate excessive travel on the floor, but it's not necessary. It's just preference. But if you find that you can shift without resistance without the pedal being at the bottom, you know your clutch disc is getting thin.


If you don't want to buy the braided line then at least remove the damper and bend the line and feed it into the slave. If you insist on leaving the damper then God be with you.

[Mister.E]

6) Open the slave bleed bolt and push the fork that sits on top of the ball and cup against the slave cylinder as far as it will go in. This puts the cylinder at the top of the compression stroke.
7) Close the bleed bolt and fill the master with fluid.


for anyone that was wondering that is it exactly what i meant when i said to compress the slave. pushing on the pedal alone is not enough you need to depress it to its limits and get out ALL of the air. sorry for the shotty explanation.

[fliprayzin240sx]

DONT FORGET TO KEEP CHECKING THE RESERVOIR!!! If you forget to top it off while bleeding the clutch, youll start all over again if it gets too low...

[g6civcx]

DONT FORGET TO KEEP CHECKING THE RESERVOIR!!! If you forget to top it off while bleeding the clutch, youll start all over again if it gets too low...

This is just like bleeding brakes. If you run low on fluid you'll suck in air, which means you have to start over.

Keep the reservoir at the full line after every rep and top off as necessary.